Shadow box carton having article support



Dec. 31, 1%68 Filed April 10, 1967 P Zfl O. W. STONE SHADOW BOX CARTONHAVING ARTICLE SUPPORT Sheet of hi. Z

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Dec. 31, 1968 O w s oNE 3,419,133

SHADOW BOX CARTON HAVING ARTICLE SUPPORT I Filed April 10, 1967 Sheet 2Of 5 75 l y My? INVENTOR.

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SHADOW BOX CARTON HAVING ARTICLE SUPPORT Filed April 10, 1967 INVENTOR.

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SHADOW BOX CARTON HAVING ARTICLE SUPPORT Filed April 10, 1967 Sheet 5 ofI NVEN TOR.

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United States Patent 3,419,133 SHADOW BOX CARTON HAVING ARTICLE SUPPORTOrison W. Stone, Valley Cottage, N.Y., assignor to R. A.

Jones & Company, Inc., Covington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky FiledApr. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 629,656 Claims. (Cl. 206-4514) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A shadow box carton having a front panel from which areformed shadow panels and a flexible article support.

Cross reference to related application Application Ser. No. 583,721filed Oct. 13, 1966 entitled Shadow Box Having Integral Mitered Corners.

Background of the invention This invention relates a shadow box carton,that is a carton having side walls, end walls, a back wall and a frontwall structure formed by shadow panels which provide a frame about anarticle thereby permitting the packaged article to be displayed andviewed from the front of the carton. The present invention isparticularly useful for the packaging of plastic squeeze tubes having acap at one end and a crimped structure at the other end, although theinvention is not necessarily limited to this type of article.

In providing shadow box cartons, it has been the practice to providelongitudinally extending shadow panels which are normally hinged to theside walls of the carton and which extend angularly into the carton toframe the article. Additionally, provision has been made at each end ofthe carton for support or retention of the ends of the article. Thissupport has taken a variety of forms but usually it has been obtainedthrough specially formed end flaps which are sometimes apertured, theseend flaps being adapted to be folded into the carton so as to capturethe cap end of the tube to hold it in a fixed position and to provide alateral and transverse support for the crimped end of the tube.

While these carton forms have been satisfactory from the standpoint ofproviding a reasonably attractive display for the article, they aresubject to two principal disadvantages, First, they require more cartonforming board than is necessary for a straight or reverse tuck package,and second, they require modification of automatic and semi automaticcarton handling machinery in order to fold the additional articlesupporting flaps.

Summary of the invention It has been an objective of the invention toprovide a shadow box carton which includes means for supporting andretaining both ends of the article, the shadow panels and supportstructure requiring no more board than is required for a straight orreverse tuck carton.

It has been another objective of the invention to provide a shadow boxcarton which can be erected and loaded on existing semi-automaticmachinery for handling straight or reverse tuck cartons. The machineryrequires at the most, only minor modifications to accommodate the shadowbox cartons. Through the use of the present invention, it has beenpossible for a company which has machinery to handle a straight orreverse tuck carton to expand its field to shadow cartons with a minimumor no additional of capital investment.

A straight or reverse tuck carton is one of the most commonly used ofcartons and includes a bottom wall, two side walls, a front wall and aglue flap to form a Patented Dec. 31, 1968 generally rectangular tube.At each end of the tube the carton includes a pair of lateral end flapswhich are foldable against the end of the carton and a tuck flap havinga panel which overlies the end of the carton and a tuck tab whichprojects into the carton. It is this basic structure which the presentinvention employs to form the shadow carton and which does not requireadditional board in the form of panels or flaps.

In accordance with the present invention, the shadow panels are formedby longitudinally slitting the front wall of the carton. Support isprovided for the cap end of the article by creasing and aperturing thefront wall and a portion of the end flap as disclosed in co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 583,721. Support is provided for the opposite endof the article by cutting a flexible support from the front panel, theflexible support being connected either to the end walls or to the sideWalls via the shadow panels. Thus by simply cutting and creasing theexisting carton structure for the straight or reverse tuck carton, it ispossible to provide a shadow display carton having support for both thecap end and opposite end of the article.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a cartonformed in acoordance with the invention and showing an article containedwithin the carton.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the carton with the article removed.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the carton with a portion of the bottomremoved to show the supporting structure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the structure taken along line 44 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the carton blank from which the carton of FIGS.1-4 is formed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an alternative form of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the blank from which the carton of FIG. 6 isformed.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of still another alternative form of the inventionwith the article in position.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 showing the article removed.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 1010 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a blank from which the carton of FIGS. 810 isformed.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of still another alternative form of theinvention.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one end constructiveview.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 1414 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the carton blank from which the carton inFIGS. 12-14 is formed.

Description of the preferred embodiments As shown in FIG. 1 the cartonis a shadow box style carton indicated at 20 which is adapted to hold anarticle 21 with its cap end 22 at the lower end of the carton and itscrimped end 23 at the upper end of the carton. As indicated above, thecarton is particularly well adapted for use with crimped plastic tubesalthough its use is not necessarily restricted to that specific article.

The blank 24 from which the carton is formed is shown in FIG. 5 andincludes, serially connected, a side wall 25, a front panel or wall 26,a side wall 27, a back wall 28, and glue flap 29. The walls 25 to 28 andglue flaps 29 are hinged to each other along the longitudinal creases30. A reverse tuck carton, as contracted to a straight tuck carton isillustrated, the reverse tuck being distinguished from the straight tuckby the positioning of one of the end flaps on the front wall and theother of the end flaps on the back wall. As shown, a lower end flap ishinged along a shallow V crease 36 to the front wall 26 and includes anend panel 37 having tuck l'lap 38. The flap 35 cooperates with twolateral flaps 39 which underlie the end flap 35 to close the lower endof the carton.

At the upper end of the carton a flap 40 is connected along a crease 41to the back wall 28 and includes an end panel 42 and a tuck flap 43.Lateral flaps 44 cooperate with and underlie the end flap 40 to closethe upper end of the carton.

The front wall or panel 26 has a central longitudinally extending slitdividing the front wall into two shadow panels 51 and 52. The lower endsof the shadow panels 51, 52 are connected to mitered corner formingportions 53 and 54 along creases 55 and 56. The corner forming portions53, 54 have free edges 57 which define a cap receiving aperture 58. Theslits which form the free edges 57 of the corner forming portions leavea retaining flap 59 hinged to end panel 37. The flap 59 is normallyfolded against the end wall of the carton and catches a projecting lipon the cap of the article to help retain the article in the carton. Themitered corner construction just described is more fully described inco-pending application Ser. No. 583,721 and is the preferred form of thecap end supporting structure although it would be possible to useanother form of the cap supporting structure such as described in myco-pending application Ser. No. 563,285 filed July 6, 1966.

Two longitudinally extending slits 65 are formed in the front panel 26from a location intermediate its ends and extend substantially parallelto the central slit 50 and terminate at a V-shaped slit 66 to form atongue 67. The tongue 67 includes two straps 68 which are formed by theslits 50 and 65. The straps 68 being connected at their lower ends 69along creases 69a to the shadow panels 51, 52 and are interconnected attheir upper ends to form a tab 70 along crease 70a.

The apex of the inverted V slit 66 intersects a transverse slit 71 whichdefines a display panel 72 as well as relieving the shadow panels 51, 52and support straps 68 for inward flexing.

The carton is formed by securing the glue flap 29 to the side wall 25 toform a tube. The lower end of the carton is closed to form an end wallby folding lateral flaps 39 over the lower end of the carton, foldingend panel 37 over the flaps 39 and tucking the tuck flap 38 into thecarton. The upper end is similarly closed to form an end wall by foldingthe lateral flaps 44 over the upper end, by folding the end panel 42over the lateral flaps and by tucking the tuck flap 43 into the carton.The upper end may be closed before or :after insertion of the article.

At this point, the carton is in the form of a closed reverse tuckcarton. It is loaded by inserting the crimped end 23 of the article intothe upper end of the carton below the display panel 72. In inserting thecrirnped end of the article into the carton, the shadow panels 51, 52are depressed inwardly and the support straps 68 are depressed inwardly.The cap end of the article is then pressed against the lower end of thefront wall which forces the shadow panels 51, 52 into a final positionand forms the mitered corner supporting structure at the lower end ofthe carton. The cap of the article also forces the retaining flap 59into position along the end wall of the carton with its free end movinginto retaining engagement on the lip of the article.

When the article is in position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 4, theresilience of the straps 68 upon which the article rests tends to thrustthe article forward into a prominent and attractive display position inthe carton.

Second form of the invention An alternative form of the invention isillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The principal difference between the two 4forms of the invention is that in the form first described thesupporting straps, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, are in the formof an inverted V. In the alternative form, the supporting straps are inthe form of a regular V and are connected to the shadow panels at theupper ends.

The oarton includes, serially connected, side wall 125, a front wall andpanel 126, a side wall 127, a back wall 128 and a glue flap 129. Thelower end of the carton is constructed similarly to that of the firstembodiment and includes an end flap having an end panel 137 and a tuckflap 138 cooperating with lateral flaps 139 to close the lower end ofthe carton. At the upper end, an end flap 140 is hinged to the same wallas the lower end flap 135 (illustrating straight tuck) and includes anend panel 142, a tuck flap 143 which cooperates with lateral flaps 144to close the upper end of the carton.

The cap end support is provided by the integral mitered corner structurewhich includes the mitered corner forming portions 153 and 154 connectedto shadow panels 151 and 152 along creases 155 and 156.

The front panel has a central longitudinally extending slit 150 which,in part, forms the shadow panels 151 and 152. The front wall alsoincludes two longitudinally extending slits which are interconnected attheir lower ends by a V-shaped slit 166, the apex of which intersectsthe central slit 150 to form a tongue 167. The tongue 167 has a centralslit which divides it into two support straps 168, the slit 175intersecting a transverse slit 171 which defines the display panel 172.The support straps 168 are connected at their upper ends 169 to theshadow panels at their upper free ends formed by the transverse slit171. At the point of connection the upper ends of the slits 165 areflared outwardly to relieve the stress of supporting an article.

The carton is erected and loaded in a manner similar to that describedin the first embodiment. As indicated, the principal difference betweenthe two embodiments is that the supporting straps 168 form a regular Vwith its apex extending downwardly as contrasted to the inverted V ofthe first embodiment.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 the stress on the supporting straps168 and particularly their point of connection 169 to the shadow panelsis reduced as contrasted to the first embodiment for in the secondembodiment there appears to be a greater resistance to tear.

Third form of the invention The third form of the invention isillustrated in FIGS. 8 to 11. The general structure of the carton issubstantially the same as that described in connection with the firsttwo embodiments and will not be described in detail here. The cartonblank shown in FIG. 11 is a modified reverse tuck carton wherein theupper end flap 240 does not tuck into the carton as in the earlierembodiments, but rather overlies the front wall as will be describedbelow.

The carton includes a front wall or panel 226 which has a discontinuouscentral longitudinally extending slit 250 dividing the front panel intoshadow panels 251 and 252. The front panel structure at the lower or capend of the carton is substantially the same as described in the earlierembodiments.

Intermediate the ends of the front wall 226 a group of slits 276 areformed in the front wall to create a first mesh, or network, ofsupporting straps 277, the mesh being connected to the shadow panels251, 252 and supported therefrom by uncut connecting junctures 278. Whenan article is in position in the carton and the shadow panels 251, 252are depressed inwardly, the mesh takes the form illustrated in FIG. 9which is commonly seen in expanded metal.

Optionally, the shadow panels may be interconnected by a second meshshown at 280 at the upper ends of the shadow panels. The second mesh isparticularly adapted to provide support for the crimp end of a tube andis formed on each side by three angulated slits 281, in each shadowpanel the angulated slits defining two mesh forming straps 282 by whichthe second mesh is connected to and supported by the shadow panels.

Immediately adjacent the second mesh 280 are a pair of slits 284 whichare adapted to receive ears 285 formed on a tuck flap 243 of an end flap240.

As illustrated in FIGS 8 to 10, the carton is erected in a mannersimilar to that of a reverse tuck carton except that the tuck flap 243is connected to the shadow panels by inserting the ears 285 in the slits284 so that the tuck flap overlies the second mesh 280. When an articleis inserted in the carton as thus erected, the crimp end 23 of thearticle is inserted between the shadow panels 251, 252 and the tuck flap243 so that the crimp end of the tube rests upon the second mesh 280 asbest illustrated in FIG. 10. The act of inserting the tube into thecarton causes the shadow panels to be depressed inwardly, therebyflexing the straps 277 of the first mesh to the form shown in FIG. 9.Thereafter, the cap end of the tube is snapped into the lower end of thecarton in the manner described in connection with the first twoembodiments.

Fourth form the invention A fourth embodiment of the invention isillustrated in FIGS. 12-15. It is distinguishable from the earlierembodiments principally in that the article support is connected to theend walls of the carton as contrasted to the connection of the articlesupport to the shadow panels of the carton. The structure has in commonwith the earlier embodiments the fact that the article support isderived from the front wall or panel of the carton.

The blank from which the carton is formed is illustrated in FIG. 15.Again, the carton is a modified reverse tuck carton having an upper endflap 340 which includes a tuck flap 343 having ears 385 which areinsertable into slits 384 formed in shadow panels 351 and 352. Ascontrasted to the usual reverse tuck carton, the carton of FIGS. 12-15includes an additional upper end flap 390 which is hinged to the frontwall along a crease 391.

The front wall or panel 326 has two longitudinally extending slits 392and 393 which define the shadow panels 351 and 352 and which also definean article support strap 394 which extends the full length of thecarton. The strap 394 is connected at its upper end 395 to the flap 390and is connected at its lower end 396 to a lower end flap 335 hinged tothe front wall.

The carton is formed generally as described in connection with the firstthree embodiments except that the flap 390 is folded over upon theshadow panels 351, 352 and the end flap 340 is folded across the end ofthe carton with the tuck flap 343 overlying the flap 390. The ears 385are inserted into the slits 384 to secure the end flap in position. Asshown in FIG. 14, the facing surfaces of the flap 390 and shadow panels351, 352 form a cradle for receiving the crimp end 23 of an article.When the carton is erected, the crimp end of the tube is thrust underthe flap 390 and the tuck flap 343, as is shown in FIG. 14 therebydepressing the shadow panels 351, 352 inwardly. The longitudinal supportstrap engages the body of the article along its length as the cap end 22of the article is inserted in position in the lower end of the carton.The strap 394, being supported from both ends of the carton, holds thearticle in an attractive display position toward the front of thecarton.

I claim:

1. In a shadow box carton having a back wall, a pair of side walls and apair of end walls, a front Wall structure comprising;

a front panel,

a pair of longitudinally extending shadow panels formed from said frontpanel,

a flexible article support spaced from said bottom wall and formed fromthe material of said front panel between said shadow panels,

said article support deriving its support from one of said pairs of sideand end walls.

2. A shadow box carton according to claim 1 in which said articlesupport comprises a longitudinally extending centrally located strapconnected to the end walls of said carton.

3. A shadow box carton according to claim 1 in which said articlesupport comprises a mesh of carton material connected integrally to saidshadow panels.

4. A shadow box carton according to claim 3 further comprising a secondmesh connected integrally with the said shadow panels and spacedtherefrom to further provide support for an article.

5. A shadow box carton according to claim 4 in which said second meshincludes two pairs of converging straps connecting a central panelportion to said shadow panel at one end of said carton.

6. A shadow box carton according to claim 4 further comprising, at saidone end of said carton;

an end closure flap having an end panel hinged to said back wall andoverlying the end of said carton, and a tuck panel hinged to said endpanel and overlying said second mesh,

said tuck panel including ears tucked into slits in said shadow panelsto secure said end closure flap in position.

7. In a shadow box carton having a back wall, a pair of side walls and apair of end walls, a front wall structure comprising;

a front panel,

a pair of longitudinally extending shadow panels formed from said frontpanel,

a flexible article support formed from the material of said front panelbetween said shadow panel and including a pair of longitudinallyextending straps each connected to a respective shadow panel at one endthereof and to each other at the other end thereof.

8. A carton according to claim 7 further comprising a tab forming theconnection of said straps to each other.

9. A carton according to claim 8 in which a V-shaped crease is formed insaid straps at their interconnected ends, said V-shaped creaseconverging toward the other ends of said straps.

10. A carton according to claim 9 in which each strap is creased at thelocation of its connection to a respective shadow panel.

11. A shadow box carton according to claim 7 further comprising a fixedpanel portion formed from said front panel extending across one end ofsaid carton and connected to said side walls,

means forming a mitered corner structure at the opposite end of saidcarton for receiving one end of an article which is supported on saidarticle support.

12. A shadow box carton according to claim 11 in which said strapsextend from their connection to said' shadow panels toward said fixedpanel portion.

13. A shadow box carton according to claim 11 in which said strapsextend from their connection to said shadow panels toward said miteredcorner structure.

14. In a shadow box carton having a back wall, a pair of side walls anda pair of end walls, a front wall structure comprising;

a front panel,

said front panel having a central longitudinal slit extending from oneend of said carton and terminating short of the other end of saidcarton,

said front panel having a transverse slit spaced from the terminus ofsaid longitudinal slit,

said front panel having a slit on each side of said longitudinal slitextending from said transverse slit longitudinally toward said one endof said carton to form, with said central slit, a pair of articleforming straps.

15. In a shadow box carton having a back wall, a pair of side walls anda pair of end Walls, a front wall structure comprising;

a front panel,

said front panel having a transverse slit extending between said sideWalls,

said front panel having a central longitudinal slit extending from saidtransverse slit and terminating intermediate the ends of the carton,

said front panel having a longitudinal slit on each side of said centralslit extending from a location spaced longitudinally from saidtransverse slit, said side slits intersecting beyond said central slitto form with said central slit a pair of article forming straps,

8 said front panel having a second central longitudinal slit extendingfrom one end of said carton and terminating short of said firstmentioned longitudinal slit to form shadow panels from said front panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,205,362 11/1916 Lang.

2,203,084 6/ 1940 Evans 229-37 2,654,470 10/1953 Borucki 20645 .142,980,242 4/ 1961 Miller 2064531 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., PrimaryExaminer.

US. Cl. X.R. 22916

